North Buttress

The North Buttress is a strangely neglected route, offering as it does a direct and exacting rock climb on the sunny face of the mountain, with amazing views of the ocean as you’re climbing. From the crest of Shipowner Ridge descend into the upper basin of the Therma Glacier and cross easy crevassed slopes to the foot of the buttress. Easy slabs soon steepen to a 60 degree prominent light grey band, the top of which is about a third of the way up the climb. Cross the slabs going from right to left and go across a ledge which is very exposed over the North Face. Then follow the crest of the buttress. A series of gullies on the North Face should be on your left. Near the top of the buttress broken rock just to the east of the ridge crest is followed by a short pitch of snow before the final rock step, which is turned by shallow gullies on the east. A short snow or ice slope then leads directly to the summit. The rock grade is about 13 and if it gets any harder than that then you are possibly off route. When the buttress is iced up with riming the mixed climbing is good. Beware of falling ice. The first ascent began as a reconnaissance, but even with a three-man rope the climb was completed from the foot of the buttress in the remarkable time of 3 1/2 hours.